With kids · Berlin · Germany
Berlin with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Constantin Schäfer, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Berlin is a relaxed city for families, with huge parks and playgrounds, hands-on museums, boat trips and a famous zoo. Public transport is easy with strollers, though some older U-Bahn stations lack lifts. Top picks: Museum für Naturkunde, German Museum of Technology and Tempelhofer Feld. Families usually base themselves in Prenzlauer Berg.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 6
- Best area for families
- Prenzlauer Berg
- Rainy-day options
- 2
- Busiest months
- July–August
Best things to do with kids
Museum · Mitte
1.Museum für Naturkunde
Berlin's natural history museum is dominated by the skeleton of a Giraffatitan, one of the tallest mounted dinosaurs in the world, and holds an original Archaeopteryx fossil. The glass-walled wet collection shows around a million specimens preserved in jars of alcohol.
Use the Jurascopes, binocular viewers that bring the dinosaur skeletons to life.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
- History
Museum · Kreuzberg
2.German Museum of Technology
The Deutsches Technikmuseum fills old railway sheds and a modern wing with locomotives, ships, aircraft, cars and computers; a Douglas C-47 'raisin bomber' from the Berlin Airlift hangs from the roof. The Science Center Spectrum next door has hundreds of hands-on experiments.
Families should allow most of a day and save Spectrum for when attention flags.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Park · Neukölln
3.Tempelhofer Feld
The airport that kept West Berlin alive during the 1948–49 Airlift closed in 2008 and its airfield became a vast public park. Berliners now cycle, skate and kite-surf along the old runways, barbecue on the grass and tend community gardens, with the monumental terminal building on the edge.
Rent a bike or bring skates and ride the full runway; sunset across the open field is spectacular.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Active
- History
Viewpoint · Alexanderplatz
4.TV Tower (Fernsehturm)
Built by East Germany in 1969, the 368-metre Fernsehturm is the tallest structure in Germany. A fast lift reaches the observation deck at about 200 metres, with views across the whole city, and a revolving restaurant sits just above.
Book a timed ticket online and go on a clear day; sunset slots are the most popular.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets sell out at weekends and around sunset; book ahead.
- Views
- Iconic
- Kids
- Couples
Experience · Mitte
5.Spree river boat tour
One-hour boat trips run past Museum Island, the Reichstag, the Chancellery and the modern government quarter, with commentary. Longer trips continue along the Landwehr Canal through Kreuzberg.
Choose a boat with an open upper deck and a sailing in the early evening for softer light.
- Time needed
- 1–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Couples
- Views
- Outdoors
Park · Tiergarten
6.Tiergarten and the Victory Column
Berlin's great central park stretches from the Brandenburg Gate to the zoo, with lakes, woodland paths and the Café am Neuen See beer garden. At its centre, the Victory Column is topped by a gilded statue of Victoria; 285 steps lead to a viewing platform.
Rent a rowing boat at the Neuer See, then have a beer in the lakeside garden.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Views
- Kids
- Couples
Rainy-day ideas
- Museum für Naturkunde — Use the Jurascopes, binocular viewers that bring the dinosaur skeletons to life.
- German Museum of Technology — Families should allow most of a day and save Spectrum for when attention flags.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for families, couples, food lovers and quiet stays
Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg's handsome tenement blocks survived the war and were renovated after reunification. Kollwitzplatz and Kastanienallee are lined with cafés and brunch spots, the Kulturbrauerei is a former brewery turned cultural centre, and the Mauerpark hosts a Sunday flea market on the former border strip.
- Good
- Pretty, safe and relaxed; Great cafés and playgrounds; Tram and U2 to Mitte
- Watch out
- Quieter nightlife; A short ride from the main sights
- Nearby
- Mauerpark, Kollwitzplatz, Kulturbrauerei, Berlin Wall Memorial
Family travel tips
- Children under 6 travel free on Berlin public transport, and older children pay reduced fares.
- Berlin Zoo and its aquarium, next to the Tiergarten, are among the oldest and most species-rich in Europe.
- The DDR Museum's hands-on exhibits, including a Trabant car simulator, appeal to older children.
- Prenzlauer Berg has playgrounds on almost every square and many child-friendly cafés.
- In summer, the lakes at Wannsee and Müggelsee have family-friendly beaches.
Day trips for families
- Potsdam (About 25–40 minutes by train) — The Prussian kings' summer capital has the rococo Sanssouci Palace and park, the vast New Palace, the Dutch Quarter of red-brick houses and the Glienicke Bridge, where Cold War spies were exchanged.
- Spreewald (About 1 hour by regional train) — A UNESCO biosphere reserve where the Spree splits into hundreds of small channels.
- Wannsee and Peacock Island (About 40 minutes by S-Bahn) — The lakes of south-west Berlin have a lido, lakeside walks and the House of the Wannsee Conference memorial.
When to go with children
The best months overall are May–September. July–August are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Berlin good for kids?
Berlin is a relaxed city for families, with huge parks and playgrounds, hands-on museums, boat trips and a famous zoo. Public transport is easy with strollers, though some older U-Bahn stations lack lifts.
+What can kids do in Berlin?
Museum für Naturkunde, German Museum of Technology, Tempelhofer Feld, TV Tower (Fernsehturm) and Spree river boat tour.
+Where should families stay in Berlin?
Prenzlauer Berg: Restored 19th-century tenements, leafy squares, cafés and young families.